RBA appoints banking head: Guy Debelle resigns

Australia's central bank has promoted Michael Plumb to head of banking.

Plumb has been with the Reserve Bank of Australia for more than 20 years and held several senior roles during that time.

Most recently, he was chief representative at the regulator's New York office.

Before that, Plumb was deputy head of the economic analysis and economic research departments.

Earlier he was a lecturer in econometrics at the University of Sydney.

The new appointee will report to assistant governor (business services), Michelle McPhee, who said the banking department was "at the heart" of the RBA's role as the government banker.

"Among the many critical functions it performs, this department processed all the JobKeeper and Covid-19 disaster payments during the pandemic, helping bring relief to thousands of Australians," she said.

"I'm confident that Michael's vast experience and strong skill set will help him steer the team through these challenging times."

The RBA provides a range of banking services to the Australian government, including management of its core accounts and more than 90 government agencies. The central bank also provides services to overseas central banks and official institutions.

Separately,  the central bank's deputy governor, Guy Debelle, announced today that he was resigning from his position.

He is leaving to take up the role of finance chief at Fortescue Future Industries.

Philip Lowe, the governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia said: "I would like to thank Guy for his outstanding service to the RBA over many years. He has made major contributions to monetary policy, to financial market operations and to the management of the Bank. Guy has been a great colleague and I wish him all the best in his new position".